“After Midnight” Review – Talent Exploding from the Stage

 

It’s difficult to imagine “After Midnight” eventually going on tour around the country. 

 

 

This is one Broadway show that it’s probably best to travel to New York to see, as the assemblage of talent (musicians, singers, dancers) is so extraordinary it’s unlikely stand-ins or understudies could pull it off with the same style and energy.

 

 

Here is a video snippet of the 90  minutes of rhythms from the stage.

 

 

Poems by Langston Hughes, night clubs that date back to the prime of the Jazz Age, and lots of Duke Ellington music—that’s the setting.  

 

 

Picture extra spice from breakdancing too on top of tap and jazz dancing with amazing splits on ground and in air. 

 

90 minutes constant action with 27 songs, most with dance—WOW! 

 

 

The stars in the cast include Fantasia Barrino of earlier “American Idol” fame and Dulé Hill known to many from “The West Wing” and other film/TV credits. 

 

 

Truth to tell, these stars do shine but so does everyone else in the cast such that they are just part of the ensemble.  

 

 

One has to think back to Ziegfield follies to picture costumes so sparkling, whether they are jewel clad showgirls a la Josephine Baker or debonair white suit finery. 

 

 

If there is one star it is probably the band, The Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars, all chosen by music legend Wynton Marsalis, whose stage moved back and forth as they either accompanied or took center spotlight.

 

 

In a word—entertainment. 

 

 

 Brooks Atkinson Theatre (256 W 47th Street), New York, New York

 

Visit “After Midnight” Website or call 212 239 6262 or 800 432 7780 for tickets.

 

Tuesdays- Thursdays 7:30 PM

 

Fridays and Saturdays 8:00 PM

 

Wednesdays and Saturdays Matinee 2 PM

 

Sunday Matinee 3 PM

 

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Photos:  Matthew Murphy